Keeping up with the Times: Improving the Modern Counselor through Professional Identity Development, Technological Policy, and Positive Risk Taking

Awareness of ‘best practices’ and ‘critical issues’ assists counselors-in-training as they attempt to navigate the expectations of their programs and prepare for their future careers. This article identified the development of a professional identity as a significant goal for counselors-in-training and a curriculum responsibility for counselor educators. The authors also identified two critical issues that counselors-in-training and working professionals face currently. The first critical issue addressed is how technologies fit into counseling practices and their impact on the counseling process. The second critical issue is the potential impact of counselor-client willingness to take a risk with therapeutic options. New and seasoned counselors alike will be met with challenges as they develop and grow in their professional identity. Counselors can support their own professional development by understanding ‘critical issues’ that have the potential to impact professional identity as well as gleaning the knowledge of ‘best practices’ for ethical decision-making

Designing the Microbes and Social Equity Symposium: A Novel Interdisciplinary Virtual Research Conference Based on Achieving Group-Directed Outputs

The Microbes and Social Equity working group was formed in 2020 to foster conversations on research, education, and policy related to how microorganisms connect to personal, societal, and environmental health, and to provide space and guidance for action. In 2021, we designed our first virtual symposium to convene researchers already working in these areas for more guided discussions. The symposium organizing team had never planned a research event of this scale or style, and this perspective piece details that process and our reflections. The goals were to (1) convene interdisciplinary audiences around topics involving microbiomes and health, (2) stimulate conversation around a selected list of paramount research topics, and (3) leverage the disciplinary and professional diversity of the group to create meaningful agendas and actionable items for attendees to continue to engage with after the meeting. Sixteen co-written documents were created during the symposium which contained ideas and resources, or identified barriers and solutions to creating equity in ways which would promote beneficial microbial interactions. The most remarked-upon aspect was the working time in the breakout rooms built into the schedule. MSE members agreed that in future symposia, providing interactive workshops, training, or collaborative working time would provide useful content, a novel conference activity, and allow attendees to accomplish other work-oriented goals simultaneously

Designing the Microbes and Social Equity Symposium: A Novel Interdisciplinary Virtual Research Conference Based on Achieving Group-Directed Outputs

The Microbes and Social Equity working group was formed in 2020 to foster conversations on research, education, and policy related to how microorganisms connect to personal, societal, and environmental health, and to provide space and guidance for action. In 2021, we designed our first virtual symposium to convene researchers already working in these areas for more guided discussions. The symposium organizing team had never planned a research event of this scale or style, and this perspective piece details that process and our reflections. The goals were to (1) convene interdisciplinary audiences around topics involving microbiomes and health, (2) stimulate conversation around a selected list of paramount research topics, and (3) leverage the disciplinary and professional diversity of the group to create meaningful agendas and actionable items for attendees to continue to engage with after the meeting. Sixteen co-written documents were created during the symposium which contained ideas and resources, or identified barriers and solutions to creating equity in ways which would promote beneficial microbial interactions. The most remarked-upon aspect was the working time in the breakout rooms built into the schedule. MSE members agreed that in future symposia, providing interactive workshops, training, or collaborative working time would provide useful content, a novel conference activity, and allow attendees to accomplish other work-oriented goals simultaneously